A reed like a rod was given to me. Someone said,
“Rise, and measure the Temple of God1, and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2Leave out the court which is outside of the Temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. They will tread the holy city under foot for 42 months. 3I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing before the Lord2 of the earth. 5If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6These have the power to shut up the sky, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
7When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. 8Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 12I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them,
“Come up here!”
They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13In that day there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe comes quickly.
15The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his MASIH3. He will reign forever and ever!”
16The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying:
“We give you thanks, LORD God All-Powerful,4 the One who is and who was; because you have taken your great power, and reigned. 18The nations were angry, and your wrath came, as did the time for the dead to be judged, and to give your slaves the prophets, their reward, as well as to the saints, and those who fear your Name, to the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19The Temple of God that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his Temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
- 11:1 God, English translation of theos. It is the Greek equivalent of elohim and eloah (Hebrew) which are related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎
- 11:4 Lord, translated from the Greek kurios. Depending on context, it can refer to: 1. God, 2. ’ISA AL-MASIH, 3. men in authority, such as kings, landlords, etc., 4. a respectful salutation meaning, “sir.” ↩︎
- 11:15 MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH. Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
- 11:17 LORD God All-Powerful, this combination mirrors the Septuagint’s* way of translating the Hebrew word combination, YAHWEH elohim sabaoth, into Greek. LORD in all caps represents God’s personal name YAHWEH in the Hebrew scriptures. An example of this combination is Hosea 12:5, which says: “Even YAHWEH God All-Powerful; YAHWEH is the Name by which he is to be remembered!”
*Septuagint is the name of an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures used by early Christians. ↩︎